Social Issues

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Blaise Tishey lays bricks for a living, and for a long time he had more work than he could handle building the high-rise condos and hotels that line the beaches. Then, a few years ago, as the surging housing market sparked a major construction boom, his workload slackened. An influx of …

WASHINGTON — The clamor over immigration reform has softened to a whisper along the presidential campaign trail. Last year, Congress was immersed in a bruising battle over fixing the nation’s immigration system. In that fight, John McCain was joined by fellow GOP Senator Mel Martinez of Florida and eight other senators in unsuccessfully advocating a …

WASHINGTON – As the ranks of new voters swell, a nonpartisan watchdog group predicted Tuesday that voters in three Southeastern states may face problems voting on Election Day. Common Cause, a citizen’s lobbying group, examined voting preparedness in 10 states where the presidential race is expected to be tight and was most concerned about Florida, …

WASHINGTON – Florida officials are warning that they may sue he U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At issue are claims the corps is violating the federal Endangered Species Act with drought plans to continue limiting downstream flows of water from reservoirs in northern Georgia into the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. “The Corps’ operations continue to jeopardize …

WASHINGTON-When Bush administration officials came to Capitol Hill earlier this week to make the case for a buyout of bad mortgage debt, Sen. Elizabeth Dole said she was skeptical of the plan. Then she looked backwards. In 2003, Dole began sponsoring legislation to beef up weak government oversight of two key players in the housing …

WASHINGTON – Voters did not hand Democrats control of Congress two years ago in order to impeach President Bush, said Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean Wednesday. Dean was responding to questions about the Articles of Impeachment against Bush, introduced this week by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and signed by Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida …

Part two of a three-part series WASHINGTON — Questions about John McCain’s temperament arose during his presidential bid in 2000, in which he was defeated for the GOP nomination by then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. A page one story in The New York Times on Oct. 25, 1999, first turned McCain’s temper into a campaign issue, according …

By SEAN MUSSENDENMedia General News Service WASHINGTON—The Bush administration published a last-minute rule Friday that will make it easier for strip-mining operations to dump waste in streams. Environmental advocates say the change will increase the practice of mountain-top removal coal mining in Appalachia. They’re pushing President-elect Barack Obama to reverse the rule after he takes …

WASHINGTON- Rev. Randy B. Kelley voted in Alabama’s presidential primary on Super Tuesday. As a Democratic superdelegate, he’ll cast a second vote – a much more influential one – when the party meets to nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama at the national convention in August. Though Obama surged ahead of Clinton in …

WASHINGTON-The 2009 federal budget will include funding for some strange animals if one Virginia lawmaker has his way. Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from southwest Virginia, has requested $744,325 to study the horseshoe crab and $250,000 for hair sheep – a unique bread of short-haired sheep that does not require shearing. Both requests would go …